BI: Beware of crypto scammers on Facebook, TikTok

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Rudy Santos, Neil Jayson Servallos – The Filipino Star

February 27, 2023 | 00:00

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is warning Filipinos seeking to work abroad against cryptocurrency scammers who use social media platforms to defraud workers.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the office discovered the scheme after yesterday interviewing eight Filipino Overseas Workers (OFWs) from Cambodia who had been recruited by a fraud ring through Telegram, Facebook and Tik Tok.

Tansingco said the OFWs, who range in age from their early 20s to their late 30s, arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 yesterday on a Philippine Airlines flight from Phnom Penh .

BI records showed that two of the OFWs departed to the NAIA as tourists and three to Clark International Airport in Pampanga.

Tansingco said a Clark immigration officer who had previously been recalled and investigated for allegedly facilitating the departure of human trafficking victims was the same employee who cleared all three victims.

Three other OFWs did not pass through the port as they traveled for seven days before reaching their destination, according to Tangsingco.

“From Zamboanga they traveled to Brunei, Jakarta and Thailand before reaching Cambodia,” he said.

“The victims were promised salaries of up to $1,000 per month. They were forced to work up to 18 hours a day with no day off,” Tansingco added.

He said several Filipino professionals were lured into high-paying jobs abroad, only to end up falling victim to cryptocurrency scam gangs.

“It’s an uphill battle. Human trafficking is a multi-faceted problem and needs to be addressed at the root.

Those who illegally recruit and victimize our Kababayans must be arrested and imprisoned,” Tansingco said.

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